Status
Available
Call number
Publication
A Charlotte Zolotow Book (HarperTrophy) (HarperCollins)
Pages
213
Description
Shimmer, a renegade dragon princess, tries to redeem herself by capturing a witch with the help of a human boy.
Description
Centuries of wandering have taught the exiled dragon princess Shimmer that humans are beneath her notice. But she allows young Thorn to join her in the search for the evil witch Civet--and the quest to restore her dragon clan's lost home.
The outlawed princess of the Dragon Clan and her young human companion undergo fearsome trials in their quest for an evil enchantress. 'Dramatic tension stays high. Weaves Chinese legend into an exciting tapestry of myth and folklore.
The outlawed princess of the Dragon Clan and her young human companion undergo fearsome trials in their quest for an evil enchantress. 'Dramatic tension stays high. Weaves Chinese legend into an exciting tapestry of myth and folklore.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1987
Physical description
213 p.; 7.6 inches
ISBN
0064402274 / 9780064402279
Similar in this library
Lexile
830L
User reviews
LibraryThing member sanguinity
Shimmer, an exiled Dragon Princess, reluctantly allies with a human boy named Thorn to restore her family's homeland, and hopefully, eventually, reconcile with her people. The latter plotline isn't resolved in this book -- there are sequels! -- but Shimmer makes substantial progress toward her
I should add: substantial progress toward what is possible. There's a strong element in here that the past is only a memory and a history: it can never be restored. Time passes, things change, change radiates outward, and while the single big root changes might be reversed, all the myriad attendant little changes cannot be. I'm expecting that this theme is further developed in later books.
The other theme I found interesting is that of Shimmer and Thorn's (very unequal) partnership. I was expecting a resolution akin to Aesop's "The Lion and the Mouse" (even small people are capable of big service), but Shimmer does not judge Thorn's value by his utility: she judges him by his loyalty. Thorn does eventually become useful -- no spoiler there -- but Shimmer grudgingly commits to him long before that, solely on the basis of his loyalty and heart with respect to her. (In fact, one senses that Shimmer would prefer Thorn to not be useful, since that places an obligation of gratitude upon her.)
While I was reading the book, it didn't make a big impression on me -- my fault, in part, for reading it during the I'm-so-tired escapist time slots. But since then it's grown on me a lot, and I'll be checking out the sequels.
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first objective.I should add: substantial progress toward what is possible. There's a strong element in here that the past is only a memory and a history: it can never be restored. Time passes, things change, change radiates outward, and while the single big root changes might be reversed, all the myriad attendant little changes cannot be. I'm expecting that this theme is further developed in later books.
The other theme I found interesting is that of Shimmer and Thorn's (very unequal) partnership. I was expecting a resolution akin to Aesop's "The Lion and the Mouse" (even small people are capable of big service), but Shimmer does not judge Thorn's value by his utility: she judges him by his loyalty. Thorn does eventually become useful -- no spoiler there -- but Shimmer grudgingly commits to him long before that, solely on the basis of his loyalty and heart with respect to her. (In fact, one senses that Shimmer would prefer Thorn to not be useful, since that places an obligation of gratitude upon her.)
While I was reading the book, it didn't make a big impression on me -- my fault, in part, for reading it during the I'm-so-tired escapist time slots. But since then it's grown on me a lot, and I'll be checking out the sequels.
Show Less
Awards
Texas Bluebonnet Award (Nominee — 1986)
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (Nominee — 1985)
William Allen White Children's Book Award (Nominee — 1984-1985)
Nēnē Award (Nominee — 1985)
Call number
J4A.Yep